Approved Research

Epilepsy and comorbidities

Lay summary

People with epilepsy are more likely to suffer from other diseases than the general population. Patients with epilepsy have a high comorbidity burden, including depression, anxiety, dementia, migraines, heart disease, peptic ulcers, and arthritis, which are eight times more common in people with epilepsy than in the general population. Comorbidities bring great burden to epilepsy patients, affecting their quality of life, study and work, disease prognosis and so on. The relationship between different comorbidities and epilepsy is not completely clear, and the effects of comorbidities on epilepsy patients are not fully understood. New and effective screening instruments and guidelines are urgently needed to aid in the early detection and treatment of comorbidities. Therefore, this study explored the relationship between epilepsy and comorbidities, as well as the impact of comorbidities and their treatment on patients with epilepsy through cross-sectional and cohort studies. The study of epilepsy comorbidities has the potential to change our understanding of epilepsy, as the study of these comorbidities helps clarify the concept of epilepsy as part of the functional spectrum and the important role of genetics. This study can not only focus on describing the statistical relationship between different conditions, but also deconstruct the causal mechanism of these comorbidities. To provide reference for clinical formulation of screening tools and guidelines.